[186]MTSU SCHOLARS ACADEMY’S NEEDS LEAD TO ‘BLACK & WHITE GALA’

MTSU SCHOLARS ACADEMY’S NEEDS LEAD TO ‘BLACK & WHITE GALA’
Nov. 13 Event to Honor 3 Prominent Tennesseans, Raise Funds for Students

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Nov. 4, 2008
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Dr. Sharon Shaw-McEwen, 615-898-5975

(MURFREESBORO)—The Scholars Academy at MTSU will celebrate with and benefit from the first Black & White Gala, a Thursday, Nov. 13, event at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center honoring three Tennesseans who have made significant contributions to the areas of education, leadership, diversity and human rights.
“Educating for Extraordinary Excellence: Celebrating our Past, Present and Future” is the theme of the premier gala celebrating the accomplishments of:
• The Hon. Camille McMullen, the first African-American woman to be appointed to the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals;
• MTSU alumnus Darrell S. Freeman Sr., chairman and CEO of Zycron, Inc., an information technology service and solutions firm; and
• Dr. Kevin Churchwell, CEO/executive director of the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.
Proceeds from the gala will provide scholarship and endowment funds for the Scholars Academy, a four–year academic and social college support program aiming to increase the graduation rates of minority college students.
The gala and a spring golf outing provide funds for minority and underserved Tennesseans, including Gaylord employees and their children, to attend the Scholars Academy at MTSU.
The reception for the Black & White Gala begins at 6 p.m. at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center, followed by a 7 p.m. dinner and ceremony of honors and silent and live auctions.
Table sponsorships ranging from $5,000 to $50,000 are available; individual tickets to the event are $200 each.
Honoree McMullen received her law degree from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and was an assistant district attorney with the Shelby County District Attorney General’s Office. From 2001-08, she was an assistant U.S. attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, and she was named to the state’s criminal appeals court this year.
Freeman, whose IT firm employs more than 150 professionals across the country, also is the co-founder of Reliant Bank, Pinnacle Construction Partners and DC Properties. He recently completed a second term as chairman of the Nashville Chamber of Commerce and is a current board member of Centennial Medical Center. As former chairman of the 100 Black Men of Middle Tennessee, he led the organization to achieve Chapter of the Year honors in 2005.


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BLACK & WHITE GALA
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Churchwell, a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Vanderbilt University Medical School, returned to Vanderbilt in 1995 to join the faculty as assistant professor of pediatric critical care and anesthesia. Since 2004, he has been listed as one of the “The Best Doctors in America” and “America’s Top Pediatricians for 2006- 07.” He was the first chief of staff at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital and was named to lead the facility in July 2007.
For more information about the Black & White Gala or to obtain tickets or table sponsorships, please contact Michelle McDaniel or Dr. Sharon Shaw-McEwen at 615-898-5975 or e-mail cdinit@mtsu.edu.

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IN BRIEF: The Scholars Academy at MTSU will celebrate with and benefit from the first Black & White Gala, a Thursday, Nov. 13, event at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center honoring three Tennesseans who have made significant contributions to the areas of education, leadership, diversity and human rights: The Hon. Camille McMullen, MTSU alumnus Darrell S. Freeman Sr. and Dr. Kevin Churchwell. The reception for the Black & White Gala begins at 6 p.m., followed by a 7 p.m. dinner and ceremony of honors and silent and live auctions.Table sponsorships ranging from $5,000 to $50,000 are available; individual tickets to the event are $200 each. For more information about the Black & White Gala or to obtain tickets or table sponsorships, please contact Michelle McDaniel or Dr. Sharon Shaw-McEwen at 615-898-5975 or e-mail cdinit@mtsu.edu.

For MTSU news and information, visit www.mtsunews.com.


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ATTENTION, MEDIA: For B&W digital photos of the three honorees, please contact Gina E. Fann in the Office of News and Public Affairs via e-mail at gfann@mtsu.edu or by calling 615-898-5385.

Thanks!